>> tomorrow morning the supreme court is going to start to decide which of the gay marriage cases pending this year they're going to hear and decide. and if, as most observers believe, they decide not to hear the california proposition 8 case, it may mean that as early as next week same-sex marriage will be legal again in california. >> it's a big day to come visit us tomorrow and find out what happens. thanks for being here. >> we have to leave it there. gentlemen, thank you for being with us. carol costello takes it away. cnn "newsroom" starts now. good morning. happening now in the newsroom, president obama meets up with one-time rival mitt romney for lunch at white house. could a solution to the fiscal cliff be on the menu? live report from washington straight ahead. >> plus this -- stunning video out of syria, rebels cheer after a military helicopter is shot down. what does it mean for the united

states? drones. we know the military uses them. well, get ready for drones possibly buzzing your house. and forget steroids. adderall is the new p.e.d. and four nfl players are suspended. cup of joe, only one question left. something you would buy? >> no, not at all. >> "newsroom" starts now. >> good morning to you. thank you so much for being with me. i'm carol costello. we begin in washington today where president obama will play host to mitt romney this afternoon andn what could be one of the most anticipated meals in the nation's capital since thanksgiving. white house correspondent dan lothian joins me now. so, i don't know.

i would love to be a fly on the wall. wouldn't you? >> no cameras allowed inside for this lunch. this is something the president said he wanted to do in his victory speech, sit down with mitt romney and talk about moving the country foor. you look back to a few weeks ago when both these candidates were going at each other, the president criticizing mitt romney, the 47% for his connection to bain capital, moving jobs overseas. mitt romney hitting the president for his handling of the economy, saying in essence the president had set the economy on a reverse course, put it in reverse. now they're sitting down. most likely it will be a much different tone this time around. the president has said there are things he would like to talk to mitt romney about, ideas such as job creation for middle class americans. he also has pointed out that mitt romney did a good job in turning the olympics around. these are things that perhaps could work in the federal

government streamlining federal agencies. a different tone as both men sit down. we will have no cameras there so we won't be able to witness it. >> such a disappointment. you mentioned this, dan. there have been jokes about a potential cabinet position for romney. here is how white house press secretary jay carney responded to that one. >> is governor romney here tomorrow in some kind of cabinet-level position? some kind of audition for that position? >> no, no, no. >> okay. so i know it sounds ridiculous. but wouldn't it be nice if, like you said, president obama would find some role for mitt romney and mitt romney would actually agree to do it? >> reporter: well, you know, a lot of mitt romney supporters out there probably would think that might be a good idea. that would give him a chance to influence this administration. but there's no indication at all that the president plans to offer him a job. the president, when asked about

what kind of role mitt romney could perhaps play said this is no suggestion here that he has a special assignment for mitt romney. it's just a chance for them to sit down and talk about ideas, as the president pointed out, mitt romney had some ideas that were not necessarily partisan ideas but good ideas. >> dan lothian, reporting live from the white house. today, s in syria are celebrating a milestone victory in their civil war. this video posted on youtube shows civilians celebrating after a military helicopter apparently is struck by a missile. rebel fighters shot it down. a different video posted online shows wreckage of a military jet. rebels claim to have also shot down that aircraft. clashes in egypt between police and protesters outraged by the president's recent power grab, the scuffle involving hundreds of people have blocked

the u.s. embassy, preventing people from kochling and going. they say the u.s. embassy is not threatened and diplomatic business will return to normal once the crowds thin. security base where army private bradley manning was once held says he was not pressured to keep manning under a high-level lockup under constant watch. manning, accused of leaking classified documents to wikileaks was tortured behind bars. he may take the stand in his own defense later this week. first day of a whole new life for two lucky winners. they have this combination of winning numbers, two tickets sold in arizona and missouri will split the jaw-dropping jackpot. nearly $580 million. just outside of atlanta, no big celebrations there, right? >> reporter: no big celebrations here. not for me.

not for you. i know you're there. had you won, you probably wouldn't be in today. we know the reason we're here in mapleton is because this is a gas station that actually sold a $116 million powerball ticket. but this jackpot far exceeds that at $588 million. the reason it got so high is that it rolled over 16 times over the last two months without a winner. and powerball actually has changed its strategy to get more of these big jackpots. they doubled the cost of a ticket from $1 to $2, which starts the jackpot instead of $20 million at $40 million. who won? we don't know yet. we will find that out, of course, at some time. but the peak of ticket sales, 130,000 tickets per minute were being purchased, everybody trying to beat those 1 in 175 million odds to win the big jackpot, carol. >> my team, we bought over, what, 200 tickets and we matched

two numbers total on one ticket. it was depressing. victor blackwell, thanks so much. toys r us learning the hard way you don't mess with parents on a black friday sale. angry customers are saying toys r us -- they canceled their orders because they ran out of stock. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange with more. what went wrong? >> if you look at toys r us' facebook page you see complaint after complaint about orders being kabsled, merchandise out of stock, people waiting for hours on the phone and bad customer service. look closer at this. pretty scathing comments. people saying they'll never shop there again. others saying the page needs to add an unlike button. to give you an example one shopper placed her online order on black friday and the item was

in stock. then they canceled her order because they were out of stock and she lost the sale price. toys r us is saying it's the busiest time of year for the industry in general. out of stock isn't uncommon for any retailer. seems loik a pretty reasonable response but not making people who missed out on those deep discounts feel any better. >> it's like bait and switch. >> it does feel that way, doesn't it? wait a minute. you said i can get that sale price and i don't get it. toys r us is saying it's working to accommodate each individual customer that problems are handled on a case by case basis. even though there are complaints about long phone waits, waiting for someone to pick up the phone, your best option, toys r us, says it's simply to call. customer service reps are available 24/7. you may want to try calling at an off time. they have been pretty responsive via facebook. try that route. lots of people unhappy.

throwing toys "r" us a bone, people said they were happy with their experience. people that were unhappy are outweighing the people that are happy, carol. >> i would imagine. >> which makes it entertaining reading. >> i bet. >> alison kosik, thanks. in sports, boston celtics/nets game went from chippy to nasty, kris humphries fouled hard and rondo took exception. going after humphries. rondo and humphries were ejected and 37 game streak of at least 10 assists were broken. celtics point guard could face a suspension. busted for adderall, taking a drug often given to kids with adhd. we'll talk about that. joy's christmas shopping and was looking at best buy for the latest smartphone. you wanna see if walmart has the same phone, for less? let's see!

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mineral oil used to cool it down. power company says no customers lost power and the fire is now out. wow! in texas, the attorney general's office is now trying to seize a 1600 acre ranch where prosecutors say warren jeffs and others sexually abused children. the polygamist sex leader was convicted last year. sect leaders have denied any sexual abuse took place. at&t in an annual survey of top cell phone providers, verizon had the biggest network while at&t had the fewest 4g problems but for the fourth year at&t ranked dead last in customer satisfaction. one-two punch for california. heavy rains and high winds to the san francisco area. meteorologist rob marciano joins

us now with, i guess, round two. >> more than just a one-two, but a three-four, maybe even five punches from this thing, carol. we've got several days left before it's all done. what they saw not just for the rain but the wind a big issue. trees and power lines down because of this. redding 71-mile-per-hour winds. high erelevations and it's 50 to 60-mile-an-hour wind. that may increase as we go through time. gale warnings and high wind warnings up for the higher peaks of the sierra nevadas. gusts could cause damage there. water vapor imagery showing you a second surge of moisture coming in now. that will start in seattle and slide down to san francisco. the main mother of all these storms is sitting off shore, not moving all that much. that's why we will continue to see these pulses spiral in from time to time. i-5 corridor, heavy rain about to move into the shoreline. snow at the higher elevations. this is a pretty warm sector

storm. snow levels will be fairly high and temperatures out ahead of this system will be warm, especially in the four corners and inner mountain west. eight to 10 inches of mostly rain. flooding, yes. also the possibility of seeing some debris flows and mudslides all the way down south of san francisco. you have to go up to really 7,000, 8,000, 9,000 feet to get into the snow zone. it will be a four, five, six-day event, carol. with these lines packed closer together, that means wind as well. several punches to go before it's all done beginning next week. >> thank you, rob. a month ago, this meeting seemed inconceivable. what could come of the obama/romney luncheon? it's our talk back question today. ave a lot of money. but today...( sfx: loud noise of metal object hitting the ground) things have been a little strange. (sfx: sound of piano smashing)

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now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, what should come of the obama/romney luncheon? awkward. president obama, mitt romney, a luncheon of rivals? who can forget the two on the debate stage, prowling, pointing, bitter rivalry

spawning catch phrases. >> we got to name this condition that he's going through. i think -- i think it's called romneysia. it's like robin hood in reverse. it's romneyhood. >> we've been watching the president say a lot of things about me and my policies and they're just not right. if i were to coin a term it would be obamaloney. >> now the man who accused the other man of giving away free stuff may just dine on obamaloney. >> here is what i don't get. last eight months mitt romney has been saying nobody should get a free lunch. now he's going to the white house to have a free lunch. >> hey, we laugh, but what if mr. obama asks mr. romney to play an important role going forward? even the president has to

acknowledge that mitt romney is go has been successful. not exactly best buds. say the word benghazi and, ouch. still, it could be a win/win for both men, for obama a chance to show a bipartisan spirit. for romney, a chance to rehabilitate his image after being excorriated for saying that americans who voted for obama wanted free stuff. what should come of the obama/romney luncheon? your responses later this hour. i love the holidays.

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big off-field news in the nfl. four players have been suspended for performance enhancing drugs,

seattle defensive backs richard sherman and brandon browner are appealing their suspension so they can play sunday. jermaine cunningham and eric wright, four-game suspension. what was the drug of choice? not steroids but adderall. that's right, the drug prescribed to children who have adhd, helping them focus. it's also given to treat narcolepsy. it's an amphetamine, gaining popularity among some pro athletes. for bleacher report.com. welcome, eric. >> good to be back. nice to see you, guys. >> nice to see you, too. why the sudden rash of adderall-linked suspensions? >> adderall seems to be the new drug of choice in the nfl. amphetamine used to be the popular choice. it seems to be catching on now to keep players focused on the

field. realistically, they have about 100 plays to focus on. along with a 3 1/2 hour game to focus on. as an nfl player you're supposed to be locked in. realistically, it's still three, 3 1/2 hours to keep them more focused, they're reaching for adderall, the drug now. very dangerous with their careers and their lives as well. >> well, you know, the league can't say what specific drug a player is suspended for. i'm just wondering, do players come out and say they took ad r adderall, even if they didn't, to keep the stain of steroids away? are we sure that these players actually took adderall? >> it shows up in their system. i'm pretty sure browner and sherman, the two seattle seahawks quartseahawk s, it showed up in their physical test they took with their doctors, resulting in the four-game suspensions they're

currently appealing. it doesn't look too likely that they will be passive -- or pass their appeals because now -- so we'll see how it goes. but it shows up in their system whenever they take -- >> okay. get this, chicago bears wide receiver brandon marshall was asked about these players taking adderall. listen to what he said. >> some guys, you know, they'll do whatever they can, you know, to get an edge. i've heard of some crazy -- i heard crazy stories. i heard guys using like viagara seriously because the blood is supposed to -- i don't know. some crazy stuff. so, you know, it's kind of scary. >> that is kind of scary. viagara, really? is drug use, illegal drug use in the nfl as bad as baseball?

>> it certainly seems that way. it's not as publicized as steroids is. but drug use in the nfl is a very common activity. it's happened for a while. this isn't anything new. now it's just there are a lot more options than just steroids. you see adderall and viagra, i don't know if brandon marshall is letting us know what he does, but that's a dangerous game to be playing. >> i'm trying to figure out how viagra could help you play better football. >> personally i couldn't tell you. as he said, it keeps the blood flowing, keeps them focused and energetic and keeps their body focused for the game for three and 3 1/2 hours. it could be a bit tough to stay focussed and stay intact for the entire duration of the game. players try to find any way -- athletes in general try to find any way to get any kind of edge over their opponents in any way

they can. adderall or any other drug seems to be the choice. >> thank you so much for being with us this morning. you can read eric's stories on the lions at bleacherreport.com. 27 minutes past the hour. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining us. time to take a look at our top stories. protesters upset with an a power grab by egypt's president is making it tough to get into u.s. embassy but they say the embassy is not threatened and normal business will resume once the crowds thin. the south was filed by two veterans and their wives. the crash is still under investigation. a rare moment in new york city. police say there were no reported slayings, stabbings, shootings or knifings during a

36-hour period from sunday night to tuesday morning. the city is on its way to having the lowest homicide rate since 1960. for the first time since the election, president barack obama and mitt romney will meet face to face. the two candidates will have lunch at the white house in a few hours. before lunch, he will meet with his former running mate congressman paul ryan. if you're wondering what's on that lunch menu, how about a healthy dose of humble pie for two politicians who dished out and received some pretty good beatdowns over the last several months? joining me now, cnn political analyst, roland martin, who leans left. go ahead, lean left. >> and cnn contributor will cain. >> a circle. >> you kill me. everyone knows it's political theater. americans aren't stupid. why put us through this, will? >> i think it's symbolically

healthy. first of all, president obama said he wanted to do it. fulfilling that promise has value. i think to show the american people that politics is politics and people are people and there are things we can come together over, like food. hey, by the way, roland martin and i, who agree on very little -- and i don't even really like the guy -- had breakfast yesterday together. >> really? oh, that's good to hear. >> that's the whole point. we can disagree. >> i tolerate will. >> let me take you both back. george w. bush, john kerry. they talked on the phone about healing and they never talked again. and kerry served on the senate. i mean -- okay, but let's imagine. i'm just going to go with will and look upon this as glass half full. what if, roland -- what if mr. obama could find something for romney to do and romney agreed to do it? >> yeah. white house usher. there's a lot of jobs mitt romney could do for the president. look, first of all, if we're

going to do this lunch don't do it at the white house. the president should have taken mitt romney to ben's chili bowl, get a half smoked and he could meet the 47%. i have no problems with it but i certainly think for mitt romney it's going to be one heck of a lunch, having to see the president sit there and smile at him and say you know i kicked your behind. you know i did, didn't you? i think there is a role for individuals who run for president of the united states in terms of still operating in the public space. because, again, we need all ideas on the table. so i'm sure the president, he's got a whole bunch of stuff he could ask mitt romney to do. it's not like mitt romney needs the check. >> well, i would only say, will, that some republicans even want mitt romney just to go away. you wonder if president obama finds a role for him, how

effective he would be. >> that's right. look, it's democrats that want to keep mitt romney in the spotlight. they've built him into a caricature and would like to continue to use him as a symbol of republicans. it's not like he has any sway over republicans. it's not like they're going to sit down over lunch. >> none. >> and barack obama is going to say to mitt romney, can you help me out with republicans on this tax issue? he has no sway with republicans. by the way, this idea of bringing mitt romney into the obama administration is -- honestly, it's laughable. the guy ran against everything that obama stands for. >> it worked on the west wing. >> with all due respect as well, president obama -- this isn't coming from some right winger. you can take that out of your ears. it comes from reporters across capitol hill. president obama doesn't like doing these things. he doesn't like the personal interaction. and he certainly isn't one known to set aside his grudge. so i don't see any place for mitt romney inside an obama administration. >> i still think it would be

nice. wait a second. wait a second. i think it would be nice for symbolism sake, perhaps, if president obama and mitt romney came out after that luncheon and appeared before cameras, said a few things and walked away. wouldn't that be nice, roland? >> no, no. >> come on. yes, it would. >> no, it wouldn't. no, it wouldn't. first of all, what are they going to say? the salmon's great? come on. the bottom line is if you're the president of the united states, let's be honest, carol, you're not going to reduce yourself to -- i'm going to stand next to the guy. i kicked his behind. no, no, no. it's not going to happen. >> that is such macho posturing. macho posturing, roland martin. >> yes, it is. >> the guy with all the bravado? >> if a woman were to beat mitt romney, she would say i kicked his behind. come on, carol. >> there's a small symbolic value, carol. but it can't mask a real disagreement. by the way, did you say you would hire me? >> yeah. i'm serious. will, i like you enough, i would

hire you. i mean, i would find something for you to do. that's what aggies do to longhorns, hire you guys. >> go have a beer summit. >> i don't drink. i can't have beer. >> have milk and you have the beer, will. >> i'm a brother, carol. chocolate milk. >> oh, god. thanks for the intriguing, interesting and intellectual conversation. will cain, roland martin, thanks a lot. on to something else intelle intellectual. big foot is real. there's supposedly dna evidence to prove it. one scientist says the beast is the descend enter ent of a huma and primate who mated. cial timef year, they shine even brighter. come to the winter event and get the mercedes-benz

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big foot, sasquatch, yedi, the abominable snowman, whatever

you call him, scientists say they have dna evidence of its existence and say sasquatch is part human. on top of that, the scientists are demanding all governments recognize the squatches as indigenous people and protect their rights and even from big foot hunters like this. >> was sblarge definitely wasn't human. >> i've been tracking sasquatches for 25 years. >> these animals, in fact, are real. >> i'm having a really difficult time finding an explaination for this. >> there's something on the hill. >> i do think there's a squatch in these woods. >> i can't stand it. in all seriousness, a team of researchers from texas says a five-year long study of more than 100 dna samples found the existence of a hybrid species.

in-house big foot expert and meteorologist rob marciano -- >> i have size 13 feet. i think that's the only reason they asked me to do this story. that makes me an expert, i suppose. we've been talking about this for decades now, this elusive species and now that a scientist basically has decoding the sequence and decided or figured out that a female homosapien or human at some point was mated with or approached by something of unknown origin and that's where this hybrid genetic sequence came from. there's the video, the proof right there, that picture. that hand drawing. so, you know, that's what the scientist in texas has found. and hence the quote, we have to protect these people or things from hunters and trappers and give them the unalienable rights we all have here in this country. we joke about it. it is fascinating. it certainly drives the imagination. you grew up in ohio.

i didn't know they had sightings in ohio. >> they had sightings where i grew up in farm country of big foot. i wonder if this is -- i don't think this is really true. but if it were, why aren't there more big foots around, like don't they mate? >> right. and they're big. they can't really hide that well, right? you have to remember that there are many more species of things that we don't know about or are undiscovered or unnamed. most of those live in the bottom of the ocean or in the amazon. the hard to get to places. we're talking about ohio, vermont, michigan, oregon. there's a lot of people live here and a lot of people are looking for these things. if it was real i would think -- >> somebody would have -- >> much more than dna evidence would have surfaced. >> thank you, rob. u.s. military uses thousands of remote controlled aircraft, drones you know. they've been key tools in the war in afghanistan and pakistan. but soon drones could be flying

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bp has paid overthe people of bp twenty-threeitment to the gulf. billion dollars to help those affected and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open, and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. and bp's also committed to america. we support nearly 250,000 jobs and invest more here than anywhere else. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. our commitment has never been stronger.

drones soon could be buszing all over american skies. we've seen the military use these unmanned aircraft overseas for years. since 2006 close to 2,500 members of the taliban, al qaeda and other extremist groups have been killed in pakistan alone. in the past three years, drones have been used extensively, releasing nearly 1,700 weapons. and nearly $9 billion will be spent on remotely controlled aircraft. the push to get drones flying over our heads right here in the u.s. >> reporter: right now only groups with special faa permission, like the u.s. customs and border protection, with operate drones in the united states. but that is going to change. congress has asked the federal

aviation administration to find a se way to expand the use of drones or unmanned aerial systems domestically. >> bottom line is that by 2015, the faa has to have a comprehensive plan to open the air space to both public and private uafs. >> crop dusting to news traffic reports to surveying land to monitoring forest fires. there's a big industry pushing the federal government to open up the skies. arguing these unmanned aircraft systems are safer and less expensive. >> if you're looking at a manned helicopter that could be used for law enforcement community or manned aircraft used for crop dusting you're looking at around a $3 million price tag. whereas for the smaller planes it can be $2,000 or $3,000. >> as large as a fighter jet or only just a couple of feet long.

people have actual ly been flyig unmanned vehicles or even model airplanes for years but with certain restrictions. they can't fly them above 400 feet or in certain areas like airports without running into problems with the faa. that brings us to one of the problems the faa is trying to solve. how to ensure safety if the skies suddenly become a lot more crowded. >> arth, who is piloting them, the actual bandwidth, taking a look at those social issues we've all started to look into as far as privacy. >> it's the privacy piece that senator edward markey is concerned about. when can drones be used by law enforcement to gather evidence and what about the information gathered by the drones? >> it possible this is just going to be rampant eyes in the sky gathering of information about americans with no rules whatsoever? >> reporter: it's a growing

industry. study by the thiel group with current spending at $6.5 billion. that amount is expected to double in the next decade. a lot of proponents say it's a sector that could bring on a lot of jobs but a lot of those safety and privacy details still have to be worked out between now and 2015. that is when the faa is supposed to have its plan in place. lisa sylvester, cnn, washington. mitt romney didn't win the office but today is having lunch at the white house, president obama living up to his election night promise. he invited romney to lunch. the two will eat in the private dining room. no word on what's on the menu or what will be discussed. detention facility at guantanamo bay can be closed and detainees could be safely housed by u.s. prisons. government accountability office study points out 373 inmates convicted of terrorism are already serving time in 98

facilities in the united states. if you live in arizona or missouri, check the powerball tickets. lottery officials say the winning tickets to the $579 million prize were sold in those two states. missouri ticket sold in the kansas city region. the exact store will be announced later today. the wet weather in california sntd ready to let up just yet. storms are expected to continue throughout the day. yesterday's rain caused power outages in several cities and also resulted in airport delays. the daily deal site living social is expected to lay off as many as 400 u.s. employees today. that's according to the washington business journal quoting sources inside the company. other published reports say the company has seen waning interest in discounted e-mails. cnn has reached out to living social for a response. >> sure you'll pay $4 for that caramel frappucino. but would you pay $7 for a regular cup of coffee?

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did you think $4 for a starbucks latte was bad, but you paid seven bucks for a black coffee at starbucks? just black coffee? the company hopes you will. jeanne moos went in search of anyone, though, who would be willing to pay 7 bucks for a cup of joe. >> reporter: is that the sound of money being sucked from wallets? >> it's priced at $7 a cup. >> hi, there. welcome to starbucks. what can we get started for you? >> reporter: how about a bank so we can afford the new coffee made from rare costa rican beans called finka palmalera. $7 is for the medium, the grande. you could skimp and for $6 get a small. it was introduced at 46 starbucks stores in the pacific northwest. >> wow. >> is that something you would buy? >> no, not at all. >> reporter: but hold the

outrage. for some people, coffee tastesing is like wine tasting. people like melody overton who runs a fan site for starbucks enthusiasts were somewhat giddy over the prospect of sampling a rare could have feechlt melody attended a special tasting. >> i noticed all of these flavors and how it has so much going on in a single cup of coffee and i'm like, oh, i like this. >> reporter: so what's it taste like? >> fruity, juicy, clean. definitely a little pineapple. >> reporter: see, not words i associate with coffee. this type is expensive, because it grows only at high altitudes, and there are fewer cherries per tree. >> and let the finka palmalera coffee challenge begin. jimmy kimmel's staff asked folks if they could pick the super premium starbucks coffee -- >> i want to say this one because it has more of a richer taste. >> okay. i should mention, we didn't even bother to get the $7 coffee. [ laughter ] we got a pot of regular coffee

and poured the exact same coffee in both cups. >> this one is a smoother flavor. the other one is slightly bitter. i believe it's this one. it just tastes richer. >> it kind of has a beanie taste. it tastes like the bean. >> i would put 2 to $3 on this cup preferably over the second cup. >> it all tastes the same. >> reporter: that guy was using his bean. jeanne moos, cnn. >> it all tastes the same. >> reporter: new york. that was awesome. "talk back" question today. what should come of the obama-romney luncheon. this from paul. if i were mr. obama, i would consider making a new cabinet position called department of homeland economic security and give the job to mr. romney if he wanted it. from steve, absolutely waste of time. mr. romney has to the common man, there is no role to play in public policy.

from jason, romney does have experience in business so obama will tap that and come to an idea of how to put the brakes on how to stop us from going over that fiscal cliff. and this from diane. maybe after lunch someone should give them a pail and shovel and let them play in the same sand box and show the republicans and democrats that they can play well together if they only try. keep the conversation going. facebook.com/carolcnn. coming up. the nfl reaches into n dam can sioux's pocket. his punishment for the kick to the groin. [ knock on door ] cool, you found it. wow. nice place. yeah. [ chuckles ] the family thinks i'm out shipping these. smooth move. you used priority mail flat-rate boxes. if it fits, it ships for a low, flat rate. paid for postage online and arranged a free pickup. and i'm gonna track them online, too. nice. between those boxes and this place, i'm totally staying sane this year. do i smell snickerdoodles? maybe. [ timer dings ] gotta go. [ male announcer ] priority mail flat rate boxes. online pricing starts at $5.15. only from the postal service.

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rajon rondo was sticking up for a teammate and because of that, his runner history is over. the boston celtics hosting the brooklyn nets last night. the celtics, kevin garnett going to take the basket. he takes a hard foul from kris humphries. you see it there. and rondo takes exception. he goes after humphreys.

their teammates join the tusel. both humphreys and rondo got ejected and now rondo may be dejected. the nets won the game and rondo's 37-game streak of at least ten assists is snapped. he was just nine games behind magic johnson's all-time mark. rondo may face a suspension for the fight. the nfl is fining ndamukong suh $30,000 for kicking houston quarterback matt schaub in the groin. the detroit lions tackle says it was not done on purpose. >> it's a crazy play. it's one that unfortunately happened. i didn't even realize it until the end of the game and i see my twitter feed, i see my friends telling me about it. but other than that, i mean, can't do much more about it other than being dragged to the ground and my foot inadvertently hit the man. it's over with. moving forward. >> the league decided against suspending suh for the thanksgiving day hit, because it could not make a decision on the intent of that kick. some tainted major league legends are on the hall of fame

ballot that went out to writers yesterday. barry bonds, clemens and sammy sosa are intux eligible for the first time. mark mcgwire back on the ballot. will the whiff of steroids keep them out? bond seems indignant saying, quote, people want to be angry at you forever. end quote. and that's a look at sports this morning. the next hour of cnn "newsroom" starts right now. and stories we're watching right now in the "newsroom." >> oh! [ screaming ] >> stunning video from syria of a military helicopter being shot down. of you could hear the rebels cheering. what does it mean for the united states? and it's a lunch time meeting between the two men who waged a bitter campaign for president. barack obama and mitt romney sitting down together for the first time since the voters decided. a helmet that can protect you from a concussion? it's what philadelphia eagles'

quarterback michael vick will be wearing if he plays this sunday. how does it work? we'll explore. and when it comes to black nerds, you can forget the guys you think you know. [ laughter ] ♪ the new crowd is young, hip and proud to let their nerd flag fly. "newsroom" starts now. ♪ and good morning. thank you so much for being with me. i'm carol costello. politicians and pundits alike have their eyes on washington where in a few hours president obama will welcome his former rival, mitt romney. we're going to talk about that luncheon in just a second. but first, we are learning that president obama had a lengthy phone call with house gop leader, the speaker, john boehner. dan lothian is at the white house. dan, what do you know? >> reporter: well, this is the second phone conversation now that the president has had with

speaker boehner with regards to the fiscal cliff. this call, according to a source familiar with it, told me it lasted for 28 minutes. this official saying it was hardly short or curt, as had been reported by some news outlets. and my colleague, jessica yellen, heard from another source that said that the president told speaker boehner that he felt that rates had to go up on wealthy americans and that there would be no deal without that. so clearly, there is still some distance between the two sides here. the president believing that wealthy americans need to pay more. those bush era tax cuts should not extend for them. republicans believing that all americans should benefit from those tax cuts, and that now you should put en titlements on the table. of as we see, the officials from the white house going up to capitol hill today, treasury secretary timothy geithner, to try to hammer out some deals. still, both sides far apart. >> well, i want to talk about that a little bit. there was an article on

politico.com this morning that said the two sides are farther along with a deal than we know. and that all of this stuff that you're hearing out in the public view is just posturing. what are you hearing, dan? >> reporter: well, you know, we certainly -- i think everyone hopes so, that they are closer to a teal. what you're hearing is some people are optimistic, including the president, saying he's optimistic this can get done, even before christmas. but then you have others stepping up saying both sides are far apart, and very pessimistic this can get done. as i stated, there's still some very strong views about what each side is holding to and refuses to give up. the president refusing to give up an those wealthy americans getting tax extensions. so, you know, it does appear, when you look at it, that there are those who believe that this can get done. there are those who believe that it can't -- where is the truth? we have to wait and see as the clock winds down. >> yeah, the clock is winding down fast now. dan lothian, you're going to talk about the luncheon later on in the program. >> reporter: we'll come back gore that. >> we look forward to that. dan mentioned treasury secretary

timothy geithner. he is being called in as president obama's point man on the fiscal cliff negotiations. he'll meet with congressional leaders this afternoon. republican representative tom cole. >> we have lots of leverage in this negotiation. nobody wants the spending cuts, particularly democrats on the domestic side to go places. this doesn't deal with that. we still have plenty of leverage in the negotiation. i actually think the american people, number one, should never be used as leverage in a negotiation. >> yesterday, president obama met with corporate ceos who said that a compromise is essential to avoiding the so-called fiscal cliff. here is ceo lloyd blankfein. >> reporter: if this were easy, we wouldn't be standing here having come fabs at the white house how to achieve it. it's going to be difficult. i think what we try to do is we try to get in as good a place as we possibly can. i would rather have more of the -- more of the taxes deferred to beyond the period

where the economy is weak. >> well, maybe all of this is working. markets around the world are up today, a sign of confidence that a fiscal cliff deal just might be in the works. we'll see. another positive sign for the economy, the broadest picture we can get of the economy's health, gdp, came in quite a bit better than expected in the third quarter. alison kosik at the new york stock exchange to explain. hi. >> reporter: hey, carol. so between july and september, the economy grew at a 2.7% rate. so that came in much better than second quarter's rate, which was 1.3%. and there's definitely good stuff here. you look deeper in the report, you find out the u.s. exported more than first thought. that's good. because we really need people in other countries to buy our stuff. that helps our economy. home building and strong corporate profits, that also helped our economy. but here's the thing. when you dig deeper in the report, past that headline number of 2.7%, you know, it's not all it's cracked up to be. businesses built up bigger inventories of their products last quarter. that helps the economy now, but

the thing is, it means next quarter these businesses may not buy as much. also, this increase in inventory may be because these products are just piling up and no one is buying them. also, corporate america isn't spending much on much else. computer and equipment purchases, they're down because they're not sure where the economy is headed. and consumers aren't spending as much as first estimated, either. so there's a little good, there's a little kind of bad in the report, carol. >> yeah. i was going to ask you, what does this all mean as far as the fiscal cliff goes, anything? >> reporter: you know this. the fiscal cliff is going to have a huge impact on the economy. in fact, a big european economic group this week dialed back its estimates for u.s. economic growth this year. and other economists are warning that things may not be so rosie, partly because of concerns about the cliff. now, businesses are already cutting back, even though corporate profits are up. and when you look at today's report, here's the interesting part, carol. government spending, federal government spending is a huge reason why the economy grew in q3. it rose 9.5%. but here's the thing. if you slash that government

spending, if and when the fiscal cliff goes into effect, that can really eat into gdp and is part of the reason the congressional budget office has said if we do go over the cliff, the u.s. could go back into a recession. carol? >> alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. well, someone is waking up this morning as a multimillionaire. winning tickets for the powerball's record-breaking $580 million jackpot were sold in arizona and missouri. last night's winning numbers, if you're curious, 5, 23, 16, 22, 29 and the powerball number is 6. winners will split the largest jackpot in powerball's history. we know one of the tickets was bought around the kansas city area. but whoever won was really lucky, because the odds of winning, 1 in 175 million. you have a much better chance of getting hit by -- we say that every time. you know. the odds are long. lucky them, and we're happy for them. journalist tom ricks is a star. not for his new book, not for his 17 years at the wall street

journal, but for his 90 seconds on fox news. when asked about the attacks on the u.s. consulate in benghazi and claims the obama administration whitewashed it, ricks employed an earth to fox maneuver. >> i've covered a lot of fire fights. it's impossible to figure out what happens in them sometimes. and second, i think that the emphasis on benghazi has been extremely political, partly because fox was operating as a wing of the republican party. >> all right. tom ricks. thanks very much for joining us today. >> you're welcome. >> fox abruptly ended that interview, saw that, after a mere 90 seconds. but ricks did not back down. listen to his reaction when "the huffington post" reads him fox's public statement after that interview. it's really more of a public smackdown. listen. >> here we have a statement from michael clemente, the executive vp at fox news channel. he said when mr. ricks ignored the anchor's question it became clear his goal was to bring

attention to himself and his book. he apologized in our offices afterward, but doesn't have the strength of character to do that publicly. your reaction. >> [ bleep ] alrighty, then. howie kurtz from the daily beast is here with us. welcome, howie. >> thank you. >> so ricks has become the star du jour. his appearance on fox news has hundreds of thousands of views on youtube. some say he planned this whole thing. i mean, was this his "i'm mad as hell" moment? >> i don't think tom ricks planned anything. but he did take quite a provocative swipe at fox news. the reason for all the youtube attention, the reason we're still talking about it, is because the fox anchor, john scott, gave him the hook, because he dared to criticize fox's coverage of the libya situation that was deemed unacceptable, and in effect, he was tossed off the air. >> it would have been such an interesting conversation. so i'm wondering -- like if he said a similar thing on cnn, i

would talk to him about it. >> this is exactly the point that i've been trying to make. and i put this to fox news and the michael clemente said that's not john scott's style and maybe he should have. he was offended that ricks seemed to be calling attention to himself. imagine, a guest coming on tv with a book, calling attention to himself. what really happened here is that fox, i guess like a lot of news organizations shall doesn't like to be criticized. but this could have been a really interesting, provocative discussion. obviously, it's a serious and legitimate issue with four american diplomats dead. has been hyped for political reasons by fox news. certainly the anchor could have pushed back on that. instead, by cutting the interview short, fox sent the signal, i believe, that it's kind of defensive and thin-skinned when it comes to criticism, even though, as you know, journalists love to criticize everybody else. >> well, yeah, it's a sport with us. the fox -- invited ricks to be on. and ricks said, quote, you're

just like fox, but not as good at it. so is he now -- ricks i'm talking about. is he now playing this for all its worth or are we all just reveling in his refreshing honesty? >> i would say the answer is both, carol. it is an interesting spectacle to see a journalist -- usually journalists don't like to insult television networks, because they want to get on. they want to sell their next book. they want to get the visibility. tom ricks, i know him for years, he worked at the "washington post," very blunt-spoken guy so perfectly willing to stick it to msnbc as well as fox news. but in fairness, we're all calling him up. i had him on reliable sources on sunday, he's responding to our questions. it's just such an interesting moment when somebody attempts to push back against a way in which a television network, in this case fox, has framed a particular story, that that becomes the story, rather than libya and the coverage of libya itself. >> which is actually kind of sad, right? >> it is kind of sad. >> howie kurtz, thanks so much.

the battle for syria moves from the ground to the sky. as syrian rebels claim to have shot down several aircraft over a 24-hour period. we have new video from inside the region. [ female announcer ] you can make macaroni & cheese without freshly-made pasta. you could also cut corners by making it without 100% real cheddar cheese. but then...it wouldn't be stouffer's mac & cheese. just one of over 70 satisfying recipes for one from stouffer's. let's say you want to get ahead how do you get from here... to here? at university of phoenix we're moving career planning forward so you can start figuring that out sooner. ln fact, by thinking about where want your education to lead, while you're still in school, you might find the best route... leads somewhere you weren't even looking.

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the u.s. could soon become more involved in another middle east fight. this time, syria. according to the "new york times," the obama administration is deciding if it should play a more direct role to overthrow the syrian president bashar al assad. right now the united states is just giving humanitarian aid to that country. in the meantime, rebel forces take their fight with the syrian army to the skies. they shot down a helicopter, supposedly, using a rocket. the video was then posted on youtube. [ shouting ] >> cnn cannot independently confirm this video is authentic, but you could hear the rebels are cheering after that rocket hit the helicopter. and as arwa damon found out, rebels say they shot down three fighter jets in the past days.

>> reporter: children on the back of a tractor make off with a sizeable tangled lump of metal. what was all too often the cause of nightmares, now a trophy of war. proudly shown off. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> translator: we want to take these pieces to show them to the other villages, he says. let them see what happened to these planes. everyone we speak to here describes the fear they felt, any time they heard a jet overhead. for them, this is the greatest victory. one man who we spoke to said he was picking olives, that he saw the plane being hit, and the two pilots ejecting. he says at that point everyone fanned out, looking for them. he and others are telling us, one pilot was found unconscious with a head injury. video posted to youtube shows a man in military uniform, seemingly unconscious, being carried away.

as a man off camera states, here is the pilot who is shelling the houses of civilians. another clip is of him in a makeshift field clinic. head bandaged. a voice says, this is the fate of your pilots. and this is not an isolated incident. in the same vicinity, close to the city, in the span of 24 hours, rebels claim they not only brought down this fighter jet, but also two helicopters. video posted to youtube shows a trail of smoke, and a helicopter bursting into flames. but there's no way for us to confirm when, and where this happened. these dramatic developments are a result of a pitched battle fought here at the 46th regiment base, just over a week ago. for nearly two months, he tells us, they laid siege to the base, after clearing the villages

around it of assad's forces and positioning rebel snipers in the area. the final battle to take this massive base lasted 24 hours. rebel fighters used artillery they captured from another unit on the base, firing it into the building and ending the battle. for this rebel unit, there was a treasure trove of weaponry, and most important of all, anti aircraft missiles. hundreds of them. though not all functioning, the fighters tell us. video posted to youtube right after the assault took place shows stacks of metal boxes packed with soviet era anti aircraft missiles. the regime still has the military advantage, thanks to the sheer size of its arsenal. but the balance, it seems, may have ever so slightly shifted. arwa damon, cnn. a month ago, this meeting seemed inconceivable.

but what should come of the obama-romney luncheon. our "talk back" question for today. wooohooo....hahaahahaha! oh...there you go. wooohooo....hahaahahaha! i'm gonna stand up to her! no you're not. i know. you know ronny folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico sure are happy. how happy are they jimmy? happier than a witch in a broom factory. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more.

now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, what should come of the obama-romney luncheon? awkward! president obama, mitt romney, a luncheon of rivals? who can forget the two on the debate stage. prowling and pointing. the bitter rivalry spawning tortured catch phrases. >> we've got a -- we've got to name this condition that he's going through. i think -- i think it's called romnesia. it's like robin hood in reverse. it's romney-hood. >> we've been watching the president say a lot of things about me and about my policies. and they're just not right.

and if i were to coin a term, it would be obamaloney. remember that one? now the man who accused the other man of giving away free stuff may just dine on obamalonye. >> here's what i don't get. the last eight months, mitt romney has been saying nobody should get a free lunch. now he's going to the white house to have a free lunch. >> oh, we laugh. but what if? what if mr. obama asked mr. romney to play an important role going forward, even the president has acknowledged romney's skill in making things, like the olympics, run better. but the track record for post election pow wows is not exactly good. after the 2008 election, mccain and obama met and vowed to work together on economic issues and look at them now. they're not exactly best buds. just say the word benghazi, and ooh, watch the sparks fly. still, it could be a win-win for both men. for obama, a chance to show a bipartisan spirit, and for romney, a chance to rehabilitate his image after being excoriated

by both democrats and republicans for saying americans who voted for obama wanted free stuff. so the "talk back" question today. what should come of the obama-romney lunch i don't know. facebook.com/carolcnn. your comments later this hour. s. ... what should we invest in? maybe new buildings? what about updated equipment? they can help, but recent research shows... ... nothing transforms schools like investing in advanced teacher education. let's build a strong foundation. let's invest in our teachers so they can inspire our students. let's solve this.

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♪ and good morning. thank you so much for being with us. i'm carol costello. you're watching cnn "newsroom." it's just about 30 minutes past the hour. to washington now, where in just about two hours, president obama will sit down to lunch with his former rival, governor mitt romney. white house correspondent dan lothian has more on just how this came about. >> reporter: even political statistici statistician, nate silver, who predicted the election results, doesn't quite know how this will turn out. although we can all assume the tone will be much different than

the last time president obama and governor mitt romney met. >> not true, governor romney. >> reporter: mitt romney travels to washington, where he will break bread with the man who dashed his hopes of becoming commander in chief. president obama. >> that's good. it's nice to see the president reaching out to the unemployed. that's what i like. >> yeah, in a related story, romney sent an e-mail to all his donors with the heading, see, i am headed to the white house! it's just the way i thought i would. >> reporter: we got a hint of this potential face-to-face sitdown on election night. >> i also look forward to sitting down with governor romney to talk about where we can work together, to move this country forward. >> reporter: one of the ways the president may try to move forward is by tapping into romney's business experience. as issues like the fiscal cliff, unemployment and the deficit loom. but while there will be several openings in the obama cabinet for the second term, white house press secretary jay carney says

romney is unlikely to fill them. >> is governor romney here tomorrow in some kind of cabinet-level position? some kind of audition for that position? >> no. >> reporter: and some think president obama could be aiming a little higher than a cabinet post. >> and after three weeks of dealing with the benghazi scandal, and the fiscal cliff, obama is prepared to offer romney a position in the administration, president of the united states. [ laughter ] he's like, i made a mistake. it's all yours. why, thank you. >> reporter: all jokes aside, this meeting of the political minds could be beneficial for both men. for the president, it is a chance to show he's put a tough campaign behind him. and is taking a bipartisan approach to his second term. and for romney, it's an opportunity to rehabilitate his image, which took a hit shortly after the ballots were counted, thanks to remarks made on a

conference call with donors. quote, the obama campaign was following the old playbook of giving a lot of stuff to groups, specifically the african-american community. the hispanic community, and young people. those comments had many republicans rushing to distance themselves from their former nominee. but one romney strategist offered this defense of his former boss in the "washington post." stuart stevens wrote in part, losing is just losing. i would hope it's not seen as an excuse to show disrespect for a good man who fought hard for values we admire. as for today, there's no word yet about what's on the menu, but don't expect any scenes like this one. that's right. no beer summits. romney doesn't drink. and since the event is closed to the press, we may not ever know what words were spoken between the former competitors. if only white house walls could talk. >> if only. dan lothian reporting. joining me now is sean spicer, communications director for the republican national committee. welcome, sean.

>> good morning, carol. >> everybody is joking about this. it's just become this big joke. should it be? this luncheon? >> no. i think it's actually a very nice part of modern american history, where the two candidates get together and show what a great country it is that you can go at it during a political campaign, present ideas to some degree, you know, talk about the other candidate. and then sit down afterwards as two civilized adults, come together for the good of the country, and show how great our process and our democracy is. >> you've been in politics a long time. i can't imagine being such bitter rivals. and this was a bitter partisan campaign. i can't imagine these two men sitting down and not being awkward. >> well, i mean, as you said -- that's part of politics. i think that there are plenty of people in washington -- i used the phrase before, i think you can be a fierce partisan and good person. there are plenty of times when you can sit down, go at it, disagree philosophically, be on

two sides of an issue and say at the end of the day we're two people that both love our country. we want a better country. we approach issues in a different way. and i respect your side or your opinion, but i just disagree with it. so i think to some degree this is a very helpful process to show the american people that two people can really go at it pretty strongly, and then sit down afterwards, have a meal together, and show that this is how a civilized democracy can work in the end. >> so if it the improbable happens and president obama offers some sort oh of position to mitt romney and mitt romney agrees to take that position, would the republican party be happy about that? >> i -- i mean, then you should have also added in if i had won powerball. i don't see any of that happening. but i think governor romney is someone who has always put his country first, and so -- but i just don't see that scenario ever occurring. i don't think the president -- clearly, he didn't agree with

his positions on the campaign trail. i don't see him saying that i want you to come into my administration. i think governor romney would be more than happy to probably offer his advice and his opinion. i think the exit polls showed by 60-30 that people believed he had a better plan and was trusted more to deal with deficit reduction and issues like the economy. but at the end of the day, president obama is clearly philosophically in a different place than governor romney and the republican party, and so i don't see any of that ever materializing. >> so, you know, many republicans haven't been exactly kind to mitt romney since he lost the election. so i'm just wondering, are they happy he's sitting down with the president and he's in the limelight once again, and are they hoping that once this is over he just goes away? >> again, i think -- this is a part of modern american political tradition, where the two folks sit down afterwards and show that you can come together. i don't think we should read more into this. this isn't some sort of budget

summit. it's, you know, probably an hour long or less meeting between the two candidates where they'll probably share some oh stories and hopefully laugh or two and a meal. so i don't see this as more than what it is. as just a very good gesture on both of their parts to sit down and set an example for people when it comes to how civilized and smart, intelligent adults can conduct themselves post campaign. >> and that is a good thing. sean spicer, thanks so much for being with us today. we appreciate it. >> you bet, carol. thank you. we'll be right back. [ "the odd couple" theme playing ] humans. even when we cross our "t"s and dot our "i"s, we still run into problems --

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hurry in and try five succulent entrees, like our tender snow crab paired with savory garlic shrimp. just $12.99. come into red lobster and sea food differently. and introducing 7 lunch choices for just $7.99. this information just into cnn. we understand the internet in syria has been completely shut down. now, as you know, there's been a terrible, bloody civil war going on in syria for the past months. rebels are trying to overthrow the government of bashar al assad. hundreds and hundreds of people have died. we just got video in a short -- yesterday, a video posted on youtube of rebels supposedly shooting down a helicopter, using a rocket. some sort oh of rocket. we saw the pilot's bloody body, at least we think so, on the ground. and now the news comes today the

internet has been shut down in the entire country of syria. so what does this mean? nick pay ton walsh is in beirut, lebanon, on the phone. nick, can you explain the implications of this for us? >> reporter: we don't know why it has gone down. i think the implication is the government has chosen to cut it off. that's a suggestion from most observers. that would suggest they have made the calculation in their heads that the internet is providing the opposition, the rebellion, who place on line much information about their progress, videos about what they have been able to achieve, that's been assisting them more, and, in fact, assisting the government. it would suggest some sort of crisis, perhaps, in the heart of syria. remember, we've been in a stalemate now for months in this conflict. if it is the case today they have chosen to take the internet off and this is the perhaps the result of some technical hitch or rebel action -- if the government has chosen to take the internet down, that would suggest they are experiencing some sort of crisis to take this kind of radical step, carol. >> it's just interesting that this move supposedly comes.

i mean, if the government did indeed shut the internet down in syria, it comes after this youtube posting of this helicopter being shot down in the skies over syria. >> reporter: absolutely. there are been some remarkable advances,in it's fair to say, by the rebels in the past few weeks or so. you point out where they appear to have been looted from a regime, weapons, caches and rebels overreturn. and then used against the rebels, which is air power, helicopters and jets that can attack from the air at will. that's an enormous advance for the rebels. if it turns out they are now able to shoot down the regime's air power. we have also seen today a very interesting development as well. quite uncertain now what it means. but there is certainly heightened tension around key international airport near the capital, damascus. yesterday we heard a regime loyal to a television station saying it was closed for maintenance. today we hear from activists it's blocked because of heavy

fighting. and also today, emirates airlines saying they're suspending flights until further notice because of concerns for safety of their staff. so certainly, tension there. and activists saying, in fact, rebel fighters are within two kilometers of that airport. so it's important to paint all of these incidents with the fact that we can't verify everything, because we can't get in ourselves but certainly from activists and of course from this indication that the internet has been shut down by the government, we are seeing remarkable change inside syria. i should also point out, we are also hearing that much cell phone signals have gone down across the country. that could be another sign of crisis too, carol. >> all right. nick paton walsh, thanks so much for the information. we appreciate it. nick paton walsh, reporting from beirut, lebanon. michael vick will have added protection when he returns to the field from a concussion. we'll talk to the makers of the dome. [ male announcer ] red lobster's crabfest ends soon. hurry in and try five succulent entrees, like our tender snow crab

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palestinians are hoping a u.n. vote later today will recognize them as a nonmember state in the general assembly. the move, which is mostly symbol symbolic, would bring legitimacy to their movement, but come without the support of israel or the united states. >> as for the rights of the jewish people in this land, i have a simple message for those gathered in the general assembly today. no decision by the u.n. can break the 4,000-year-old bond between the people of israel and the land of israel. >> the palestinians have had a permanent observer status at the u.n. since 1974, when the palestinian liberation organization oh was recognized as an observer, a position which is not defined in the u.n.'s charter. and for the first time since the election, president barack obama and governor mitt romney will meet. they're going to have lunch at the white house. before that happens, romney will meet with his former running mate, congressman paul ryan. former baltimore orioles

doug de census is indicted on insider trading. money laundering for a stock sale in 2008. the feds claim decinces bought $160,000 of stock in a medical device company and sold it for $1.3 billion after a friend alerted him to a takeover bid. let's talk -- real sports now. they say you can't lose your job to injury. tell that to alex smith. the 49ers' quarterback was on a role this season, completing 70% of his passes and leading the team to the top of the power rankings and then he suffered a concussion in the november 11th game against st. louis. colin kaepernick, the second-year backup won his first two starts and even though smith has been cleared to play, the coach, jim harbaugh, is starting his second stringer on sunday. >> i don't know if it's a hot hand or whatever you want to call it. but i'm just happy i getting to back out there.

>> so, there's a reason players don't want to come off the field when they know they might not get back in again. michael vick, also concussed in a november 11th game, will likely be on the bench when the philadelphia eagles play sunday. but when vick does come back and he wants to come back, he'll be able to thank robert vito for added protection. robert is the president of unequal technology and technologies and producers of the dome. good morning, robert. >> good morning, carol. thank you for having me on. >> oh, this is fascinating. i see you have the dome right there. tell us how it works. >> real easy. it has crt built into it, which is called concussion reduction technology. it's sort of like an air bag for the helmet. and what it does is reduces the possibility of head injury. and simply mike vick will put it on his head, and this will take up the 50% of the severity index out of the helmet, and reduce up to 25% of the g force.

and then other styles of this concussion reduction technology, like james harrison and troy polamalu are using crt pads that go inside the helmet. >> and you actually got the inspiration for this stuff from the military. tell us about that. >> we were asked by the military to make a safer helmet that would reduce greater impact and reduce the soldier's trauma by 40%. out of 15 companies that tested, only unequal passed. we took the technology and say that unequal is born on the battlefield and forged on the gridiron. and we made our way into 27 of the nfl teams, and we've covered quarterbacks from a to v. >> so is the cap comfortable? what exactly does it do? does it hold your head into place so it can't move around inside the helmet? >> well, no. it has the crt pads. i'll turn it inside so you can see it. but essentially, what it does is

it gives you the crt, the concussion reduction technology that's taking out 50% of the severity index, built inside. so just what athletes are used to using now, which is a do-rag or skull cap. we have a skull cap with the crt built in. so simply put it on their head and then put the helmet over top. >> so why aren't all nfl teams using this? >> we are moving faster in that realm. it's a new technology. so everybody wants to see what is happening with it. but i will tell you, just last week, we did four quarterbacks, not only for ribs, but also crt and their helmets. and it's growing nationally. we have colleges, high schools, and now professionals in x games. i just did sidney crosby's helmet for the nhl. and we're moving through. we even just did some makagetors, hollywood royalty, over in london. so this is spreading globally. and people are catching --

getting the word. we also have it built into a head band for soccer. and for volleyball. because, again, the requests keep coming in on how can i take this powerful technology that's used by the military and different sports and adopt it so all of our kids are safe and protected. >> fascinating. robert vito, thanks for sharing. we appreciate it. >> thank you so much. sweaters, collars, arguile. that's con kanye west, one of the new black nerds. a blerd, if you will. we'll introduce you to another one when we come back.

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even the word is hip, right? and so are the names who proudly carry the title. >> strange specific stuff. that's what makes a nerd a nerd. if you like strange specific stuff, that's a nerd, okay? kanye west is a black nerd. he likes strange, specific stuff. if you go up to kanye west and say hey, what are your favorite things? he'll be like robots and teddy bears. that's a nerd! >> joining me now is eric dagan, media critic and author of the new book, "race baiter." welcome, eric. >> thanks for having me. >> so you're a proud blerd. >> very much. so. >> tell us what that means. >> well, for me, i guess it just means that i'm into a lot of nerdy stuff that maybe people wouldn't expect me to be into. when i was a kid, you know, i passed the time by reading astronomy books and i was into "star trek" and "star wars" and now as an adult i still collect

comic books, although i call them graphic novels. thank you very much. and you know, don't ask my wife and kids how many times i've watched the "avengers" movie on my blu-ray at home. so i freely admit i'm into a lot of nerdy stuff and that it may make me seem like a geek to some. but i wear that flag proudly. >> you sound just like my husband. so when you were a kid, could you proudly come out and say, "i'm a nerd?" >> i think it was harder to find role models in pop culture, especially african-americans, who were nerdy, but also were cool. there were some. and i am not trying to say, you know, i've done pieces on this for national public radio and for the "tampa bay times" and i'm not suggesting the black nerd got invented with steve urkel or even got invented now. but i do think that a worm has turned a little bit in pop culture and we're at a point where you can look at pop music, you can look at tv and film, you

can look at novels, and you can see black nerds just excelling without having to disguise their nerdom, which i just think is wonderful. >> why did black nerds have to disguise their nerdiness in the past? explain that to us. >> well, in my own case, in my own neighborhood, i disguised my nerdiness, because i didn't want to get beat up. but, you know, i think we've reached a point where nerdiness -- some aspects of nerdiness are considered cooler. it's okay to be into comic books, for example. when i was a kid, if you were 20 years old, 25 years old, and still reading comic books, people looked at you funny. but, you know, when you have, you know, $500 million films based on comic books, people are a little more willing to accept that maybe they're -- there's some value in reading those books beyond a severe case of "arrested development." >> okay, should i take it deep and say how does this help the

african-american community now that blerds are accepted and hip? >> well, you know, and, again, you know, i just want to make the point that we've always had black intellectuals who have been considered hip. if you look back to malcolm x, you can even make an argument that, you know, guys in that era, james baldwin, black intellectuals that were certainly considered hip. but i do think it gives people a little more room to be themselves. it relieves them from maybe the straight jackets of certain roles that maybe you're expected to fulfill. and it just allows you to aspire to be something different. i mean, one of the things -- and donald glover said it in the clip you played. one of the things that's cool about being a nerd, you just get to be yourself without being called weird, without being ostracized, maybe have that be valued. so i look at a guy like quest love from the ro roots, who tur songs into hits and that's

really cool. so when i was a kid, having a record collection that was 30 years old might be considered kind of strange. but now, you know, it's considered something cool. and at least to advances in pop music and i think that's a wonderful thing. >> thanks for being with us in all your nerdiness. we appreciate it. eric dagans, thank you so much. "talk back" question today, what should come of the obama-romney luncheon? your response is next. ♪

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do you really think brushing is enough to keep it clean? while brushing misses germs in 75% of your mouth, listerine® cleans virtually your entire mouth. so take your oral health to a whole new level. listerine®... power to your mouth™. "talk back" question today. what should come of the obama-romney luncheon. this from darryl. a lot should come of this. we teach our kids to get along, all through life we're told to get along and work together. why shouldn't our oh politicians be held to the same standard? from steven, obama needs to have

romney explain to the gop that social security and medicare are not entitlements. that we actually pay into them every paycheck. and this from gary. carol, after having lunch, president obama should take mr. romney to see the movie "lincoln" and they can both share a large bucket of buttered popcorn. sounds good to me. thanks, gary. please, continue the conversation. facebook.com/carolcnn. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining us today. cnn "newsroom" continues right now with ashleigh banfield. >> thanks so much, carol. hi, everybody, nice to see you. 11:00 on the east coast, 8:00 a.m. on the west coast. no matter how nasty, no matter how grueling or toxic or personal a presidential campaign can be, when it's over, it is supposed to be over. winner and loser shake hands for the good of the country, right? maybe just sit a few feet apart, anyway, and make some awkward small talk. remember this moment, president elect obama and john mccain just a couple weeks after the '08 election?